The New Report
The word around the Real Estate scene is that the Spring market is blooming and the sap is on the rise. That next wave of Buyers is on the move and they appear hungry. Interest rates are mainly stable, though not the giveaway rates of a few years ago. To a lot of us old-timers who bought our first houses when interest rates were in the ‘teens, these rates still look like free money.
Here is a wide view of the Real Estate market, as put down by the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.):
Despite a recent uptick in mortgage rates, California’s housing market continued to demonstrate resilience in February, reaching sales levels not seen since September 2022.
February’s sales pace jumped 12.8 percent over January and rose 1.3 percent from a year ago. The monthly sales increase was the second straight month of double-digit gains for California, suggesting a better Spring home-buying season than last year.
“Housing supply conditions in California continued to improve in February with new active listings rising more than 10 percent for the second straight month,” said C.A.R. President Melanie Barker. “This is great news for buyers who have been competing for a small supply of homes for sale, and the momentum will hopefully build further as we enter the spring home-buying season.”
The statewide median price recorded a strong year-over-year gain in February, gaining 9.7 percent from February 2023. The near-double-digit, year-over-year gain was the eighth straight month of annual price increases for the Golden State. With mortgage rates on the uptick since the start of the year and concerns about rates staying elevated for at least the first half of 2024, the housing market could struggle to build on the momentum exhibited in the first two months of this year. However, tight inventory conditions should keep the market highly competitive and provide support for prices.
“Consumers have been feeling more positive about buying and selling since the beginning of the year, as increases in sales activity and home prices are reflected in the latest improvement in optimism,” said C.A.R. Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Jordan Levine. “While the recent upward movement in interest rates may result in more moderate sales in March, we expect homebuyers on the sidelines to reenter the market as the economy slows and rates begin to trend down again in the second quarter.”
In Butte County and our region labeled as the “Far North” by C.A.R., the number of sales and prices have increased year-over-year by about 7 percent.
All the other regional levels also registered an annual increase in their median price from a year ago. The San Francisco Bay Area experienced the biggest price jump on a year-over-year basis, increasing 22.6 percent, followed by the Central Coast at 11 percent, and Southern California at 10.8 percent.
Active listings at the state level increased on a year-over-year basis for the first time in 11 months. February’s increase was the largest in 12 months ― an encouraging sign that housing supply could be heading in the right direction
as the market approaches the Spring home-buying season.
More sellers listed their homes on the market ahead of the Spring home-buying season as mortgage rates dipped at the start of the year. The annual listings increase was the largest since May 2022. However, the jump in new housing supply did not result in an improvement in the overall supply, because buying demand also increased, and the increase in inventory sold out.
The supply of inventory statewide decreased 6.3 percent on a month-over-month basis and dipped year-over-year by 3.2 percent
The median number of days it took to sell a California singlefamily home was 22 days in February and 35 days in February 2023.
C.A.R.’s statewide sales-price-to-list-price ratio, meaning the final sales price compared to the last listing price, was 100.0 percent in February 2023 and 97.7 percent in February 2023.
The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaged 6.78 percent in February, up from 6.26 percent in February 2023, according to C.A.R.’s calculations based on Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage survey data.
Stay tuned! We will continue to monitor the Spring run.
Doug Love is Sales Manager at Century 21 in Chico. Email dougwlove@ gmail.com. Call or text 530-680-0817. See an archive of columns at lovesrealstories.com.at douglovesrealestate.com.